Handling device for sheet material



May 21, 1957 o. M. MCCURRY HANDLING DEVICE EOE SHEET MATERIAL Filed Aug.2o, 1954 INVENTOR United States PatentO Mice HANDLING DEVICE FORSHEETMATERIAL Oscar M. McCurry, Sutter, Calif.

Application August 20, 1954, Serial No. '451,247

1 Claim. (Cl. 294-16) This invention relates to a novel device ofextremely simple construction capable of being readily applied to sheetmaterial, such as wallboard, glass, metal or the like, to provide ahandle by means of which said material may be readily and convenientlycarried and which is secured to the material by a lifting force appliedto a handle part thereof.

More particularly, it is an aim of the present invention to provide acarrying or handling device including clamping jaws which are moved intoclamping engagement with opposite sides of a piece of sheet-likematerial by a lifting force applied to the handle part and which will beeffectively maintained in gripping engagement with the material by theweight thereof which is borne by the handle part while lifting andcarrying the material.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device of theaforedescribed character of extremely simple con struction which iscapable of being quickly applied to or removed from a piece of sheetmaterial, and which will be extremely eicient and durable foraccomplishing its intended results.

Various other objects and advantages of the invention will hereinafterbecome more fully apparent from the following description of thedrawing, illustrating a presently preferred embodiment thereof, andwherein:

Figure 1 is an end elevational view of the handling device shown in areleased position relatively to a piece of material to be clampedthereby;

Figure 2 is a side elevational view thereof, and

Figure 3 is a cross sectional view of the device taken substantiallyalong a plane as indicated by the line 3--3 of Figure 2.

The handling device in its entirety and comprising the invention isdesignated generally 5 and includes a pair of corresponding clampingmembers 6 and 7. Said clamping members 6 and 7 each preferably comprisean elongated piece of angle iron or other similar element of angularcross section having complementary sides 6a and 7a, respectively, whichare disposed in spaced apart substantially parallel relation to oneanother. The other sides 6b and 7b of the clamp members 6 and 7,respectively, project outwardly from complementary longitudinal edges ofthe sides 6a and 7a in directions away from one another and are disposedsubstantially coplanar, as seen in Figures 1 and 3.

The members 6 and 7 are connected adjacent their ends by a pair of links8 and 9. Each of the links is pivotally connected adjacent one endthereof by a rivet or similar fastening 10 to the side 6b and by asimilar fastening 10, adjacent its opposite end, to the side 7b. Thelinks 8 and 9 are disposed for swinging movement against outer faces ofthe sides 6b and 7b and which are located remote from the sides 6a and7a.

A lever 11 has one end disposed transversely across the outer faces ofthe sides 6b and 7b, substantially midway between the links 8 and 9, andis pivotally connected to said sides by additional rivets or similarfastenings 10 which are spaced apart a distance corresponding to2,793,065 Patented May 21, 41957 projects laterally a substantialdistance from one of zthe'sides 6b or 7b, said lever being shownprojecting 5 loutwardly from the side 7b in the embodiment ofthe-`inventionas illustrated. The overalll length ofthe lever `11 ispreferably about twice the length of the links `8 and-9 Vbut `rnayvbe ofAa greater length Yor a slightly `lesserlength, if desired. A handlelZVisconnected to and projects 'laterally `from one side of `the lever 11,fadjacent-Hits `outer end, and preferably extends from the sarnesidethereof whichis disposed againstthe sidesb Vand 7b,so thatthe handle 12is disposed gon-the same side ofthe leverll -as the clamping members 6and 7. Thelhandle 12 may `conjiprise-a sleeve 13:` which ist turn-'ablytlisposed onai-roddor shaft114t which extends through an opening 15adjacent the outer end of the lever 11 and which has headed ends 16, oneof which is formed thereon after the rod or shaft has been passedthrough the sleeve 13 and lever 11.

Elongated cushioning and gripping strips 17 are disposed against andsecured to the inner faces of the jaw members 6a and 7a and preferablyextend from end-toend thereof and are of a width corresponding to thewidth of said jaw members.

Figures 1 and 2 show the clamping jaws 6a and 7a straddling a verticaledge of a portion of a sheet member 18 and with the links 8 and 9 andlever 11 disposed transversely of said jaw members 6 and 7, so that theclamp members are spaced a maximum distance apart for loosely straddlinga portion of the sheet member 18. With the handling device 5 thusdisposed, the handle 12 is-gripped and an upward lifting force appliedtherej to. This will cause the lever 11 to swing upwardly about itspivot 10 which engages the side 6b as a fulcrum and which will cause theclamp member 7 to be displaced upwardly and inwardly toward the clampmember 6. In a like manner, the links 8 and 9 will be swung upwardlyrelatively to the clamp member 6 so that the clamp member 7 will beswung upwardly and inwardly reatively to the clamp member 6 from end-toend thereof to cause a portion of the sheet-like member 18 which isdisposed between the jaws 6a and 7a to be gripped between the cushioningstrips 17 thereof. The greater the lifting force thus applied to thehandle 12, the greater will be the gripping engagement of the jaws 6aand 7a with the sheet material 18, so that the sheet material can bereadily lifted with the handling device 5 by a lifting force applied tothe handle 12. The heavier the sheet material 18 is, the greater will bethe gripping engagement of the cushioned jaw faces 17 therewith toeffectively prevent slippage of the handling device 5 relatively to thematerial 18. It will be obvious that a second handling device 5 may besimilarly engaged with the other vertical edge of the sheet material 18for handling and carrying large and heavy pieces.

For smaller and lighter pieces capable of being handled by one man, thesheet-like material 18 may be disposed at an incline and the jaws 6a and7a applied to a yside edge portion adjacent an upper end of the inclinedsheet material and with the handle 12 disposed thereabove. A liftingaction on the handle 12 will then maintain the jaw faces 17 in tightgripping engagement with the sheet material 18, since the preponderanceof the weight of the material 18 will be below the handling device 5,and the material 18 may then be carried by one man utilizing a singlehandling device 5.

Various modifications and changes are contemplated and may obviously beresorted to, without departing from the spirit or scope of the inventionas hereinafter defined by the appended claim.

I claim as my invention: A

A handling device of the character described compris ing a pair ofelongated angle iron clamp members having spaced apart substantiallyparallel sides dening clamping faces and other substantially coplanarsides extending from said parallel sides, link members, means pivotallyconnecting each of said link members to vthe coplanar sides of bothclamp members remote from the clamping faces for supporting the clampmembers relative to one another in spaced apart substantially par- Yallel relation, said handling device including a link member .disposedadjacent each end thereof and an interv mediatelink member disposedbetween and equally spaced from the lirst mentioned end link members,said intervmediate link member having anA extension at one end thereofforming a lever, said clamping, faces being adapted to straddle aportion of a sheet-like member, and

, an elongated handle connected to and projecting perpendicularly fromone side of theleVer extension and remote from the clamp members, saidhandle being disposed on the same side of the lever extension as theclamp members, said handle being adapted to be grasped for swinging saidlever extension longitudinally of the clamp members and in an upwarddirection for swingably moving the clamp member located adjacent saidhandle longitudinally of and toward the other clamp member for movingthe clamping faces into gripping engagement with opposite sides of thesheet-like member for gripping and lifting the sheet-like member.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS van

